I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 358 Dunkirk is a big stage

The priest's ear room has an attic, and the place where Barr hides is the stairs of the attic. This is a clever design. It is about the third to sixth steps. This part is a whole and has hinges. Turn it up and dig out a cellar underneath, or simply combine it with the cellar, and it becomes an exquisite hiding place—a design passed down from England, used by Catholics to avoid persecution by Protestants, or vice versa. When Dunkirk was still in the UK, some people fled here and brought this design with them.

The "door" of the steps of the priest also has a gap, and the people inside can see the situation outside. After Barr took Eva to hide, he saw that there were always four or five people coming, and there might be more, so he didn't immediately rush. out, but knew bad as soon as he heard they were going to the stables and thought of his own horses - as soon as they left the chapel he got out right away, Jack had a short time to make a decision, but finally let him find the knock Zhong's chance, when the Englishmen were frightened away, he draped the cold and wet carpet under Eva and rushed into the stable.

He dragged the cleric out, checked him roughly, made sure he was okay, ran to the fence, released his horse, and handed the cleric over to the first person to rush in: "I have to go right away," he said. , while getting on his horse, "The British here are going to riot!"

That's why he delayed a minute or two, Eva was a little sober with the little bit of wine Barr had left when she was in the hideout, maybe less than half a minute, but enough for her to say she had to Let Barr know.

Eva is an unfortunate and lucky girl, she doesn't know that her husband wants to marry her because he needs to let down the French's vigilance, he doesn't love her, so when she accidentally, or not so Accidentally, because of love, she has been concerned about her husband's every move, and as an officer and chief, Jack probably doesn't understand that there are almost no secrets between husband and wife - it just happened, Eva was discovered Now, when others were still hesitating, Jack didn't hesitate to kill her.

She was lucky again, out of a little girlish self-esteem, she didn't tell her husband, her parents, relatives and even the people in the town were half criminals, she wasn't like an ordinary country girl to the sword, Knowing nothing about brutality and conspiracy, like the priest, her instincts etched in her blood saved her from death, and she knew how to stop the bleeding—mud was one of the most effective medical treatments here, let alone fever or something. , if she let the blood continue to flow, she would either be too weak to run or die from excessive blood loss.

She found the priest correctly again, and more fortunately, she met Baal, who was both a newcomer to King Xinzhong and a student of the Military Academy, so although his return to Dunkirk this time was semi-official and semi-private, But I still have the latest potions and powders with me, just in case.

When he said this, the people in the town immediately said they knew it. He watched Bal's horse run to the main road outside the town, while explaining the reason to the people who came to the chapel behind. Some people found Eva in the hiding place, and others Some men went to the British with weapons, but they were not able to find them.

  ——

The town is located between the waterfront and Dunkirk Boulevard, connected by a two- or three-hundred-foot path. From here to Dunkirk, Barr takes only a quarter of an hour, or even faster, but as soon as the horse's hoof steps on it is solid. Barr hesitated. He paused for about two or three seconds, then resolutely pulled the horse's head and turned from the flat concrete road to the muddy seaside wasteland.

The wasteland around Dunkirk is like all seaside wasteland, the soil is horribly gray and no crops can grow, but there are always a few tenacious plants that can grow on it, either with thorns or with tough branches. It is like beef tendon, and even more deadly, there are unpredictable pits and swamps. These are caused by the rain melting the salt in the soil. Although it does not eat people like the swamps in the forest, if you ride On a horse, it is possible to lose balance and fall off the horse.

   Regardless of whether it is now or night.

Barr carried a kerosene lantern with him, which he could hang around the horse's neck to let him and himself see the road ahead, but in such a wasteland, a little light was undoubtedly showing his enemies the way, and he guessed that the British might be on the road. Set up an ambush, but who knows if they will also prepare manpower in the wasteland?

Walking through the roadless wasteland and not daring to light the lamp, his speed will be greatly slowed down. Fortunately, the meals of the academy will always take care of all needs. Baal will not have night blindness like his predecessors. After walking for a while, he came to a place where thorns, vines and small swamps were gradually increasing, and he dismounted and led the horse forward.

  ——

One of Jack's captains came back. "We didn't see anyone passing by." He opened his pocket watch and checked—it was in short supply in Paris and Versailles, but Jack had a way to get a few, and they were distributed to this event. The various leaders of the operation to ensure that they can start fighting in unison.

"He may not have walked off the main road." Jack said, "Maybe he is a resident here, and he is more familiar with this place than we are - you take someone to the wasteland to see, if you can't find it after walking for half an hour, then you Just come back."

   "So what if he went to warn the French?"

   "He won't be able to make it in an hour," Jack said lightly. "It's time for our war in an hour. It doesn't matter if he brings news to Dunkirk."

  ———

  Jack's estimate was very accurate. Barr saw an ominous dark red before he reached Dunkirk, and the sound of fighting came from this layer of blood-like color.

   He returned to the road, mounted his horse again, and drew his long sword.

The city gate connecting the avenue was originally closed at night, but I don't know how the British did it. Now a gate and the small gates on both sides are open, and the British and the French are fighting each other - the British have taken off. Dropped their humiliating dark grey "potato" suits, as they called it, wearing their usual coats, but each had a bright red shoulder strap, as if they were once again the new protector of the country. The Model Army, they chanted Cromwell's name as if to pluck him from the roof of Westminster Abbey and put it on their heads like a crown.

Barr sneered. As a descendant of pirates, Barr certainly doesn't have any deep-rooted "monarchical authority" thought, but pirates only speak with swords and fists, they only admire powerful people and victors, the sun king Louis XIV. Either way, the Protector Cromwell was nothing but a failure, and his Puritanism made the pirates deeply disdain, asking Barr that if Cromwell and Louis XIV switched places, even for those Beautiful women, wine and delicious food, and pirates would just follow their king!

   He rushed into the crowd like a whirlwind.

Baal was both a teacher and a student at the military academy, he was learning from others while others were learning from him, how to use a weapon on a horse was taught to him by a new Tatar student called Anwar, Baal must Acknowledging that he may have learned less than a tenth of the skill, but enough for him to destroy the British defenses - the sudden torn opening caught the British off guard, mainly because their weapons were so poor that they were not the king's soldiers, Of course, they have no share of the weapons and equipment in the king's army. They can knock on the city gate or rely on the gunpowder brought by the British merchants and the laxness of the French. But after the gates were opened, the people who had been booked to poison the French's dinner lost their hands, and only a small number of French soldiers were unable to continue the fight.

So there was a stalemate at the city gate, but more soldiers were coming, and Baal caused another kind of panic - Baal returned to Dunkirk in uniform, although the royal family could not be seen clearly in the dark The color is blue, but under the light of the torches, the golden tassels on the shoulders and the golden buttons on the chest are shining brightly, and the British can't help but think...

"Cavalry!" shouted an Englishman, who might not be all English, for he was too young, most likely his father was an English soldier, he may have had a French mother, but he considered himself an Englishman—he was an Englishman. Thinking of the possibility that the king's cavalry might be pushing towards them like an iron wall, his courage disappeared. After all, he was still so young and he might have just grown up.

But in the war, the **** of death never looked at the age of the deceased. He subconsciously wanted to escape, but was hit in the face by someone who didn't know. Armed with a weapon - an act of suicide when the two armies faced off, more swords hit him - Barr couldn't see him until he jumped off his horse, shouting his identity while talking to him. French soldiers stand together.

   "The Musketeers are coming," shouted one.

So Barr and the others began to retreat into the corridor, and the British, except for a few poor wretches who were already dazed, also slowly stopped, and their failure to rush into the walls was equivalent to failure - wait until The French musket team came, but if they were in the corridor, it could be said that they were committing suicide. Jack stood under the torches, and the swaying flames illuminated his face uncertainly, "Let's go," he said.

  When the British were leaving, a loud bell suddenly sounded over Dunkirk, which meant that all the French in the Dunkirk area would be alert.

When the Musketeers came, they went out of town to chase the British, but Barr was not able to leave. Although he was still a step late, the Duke of Vendôme, who was stationed at Dunkirk, wanted to see him, so he had to pack up. Pack up and go meet the highest-ranking person in Dunkirk.

  Speaking of which, Barr and the Duke of Vendome are not unrelated at all - the grandson of the Duke of Vendome, Joseph Jr., is Barr's classmate and student, and their relationship is very good - you know, even if their identities are very different. Jean Bart's father was only the captain of a privateer, and the surname of the Duke of Vendôme was also Bourbon. The Duke of Vendôme was the illegitimate son of Henry IV, and his youth was moderately opposed to Richelieu and Louis XIII. But by the time of Bishop Mazarin, perhaps because he was no longer so energetic, he began to reconcile with the bishop—but before Louis came into power, the old gentleman had already lived a life that was close to seclusion, only the life of Louis XIV. In the plan, Dunkirk needs a trustworthy and important person to guard, so he came.

The old man's hair was as silver as silver, but he was still in good health. He was a little more refreshed than Baal, who had been running around for half a night and participated in another battle. He asked his servants to bring them meat, bread, Butter and cheese, and tea and coffee, and wine, Baal thanked him, and sat down to a reckless feast.

He had planned to have a sumptuous dinner at the priest's place, but he didn't expect to meet the British - until the matter came to an end, he felt hungry, and his intestines seemed to be clinging to the intestines, and he took out a single-handed horse and rammed the British The courage of the human front to deal with his new enemy - all the food, settled the fight in a few minutes.

"I like a young man like you," said the Duke of Vendôme. He also knew Jean Bart very well. His grandson wrote him a letter describing this friend in detail. He has a great deal of friendship with young people. There is great hope, but his son is a little dissatisfied, and Jean Barr's background is really uncomplimentable, but this old duke who was also young has developed a pair of sharp eyes in the changes of the situation for decades. At the beginning, he allowed his son to marry one of the Mancini sisters, becoming half of the king's brother-in-law, keeping his territory and title. It can also be seen now that their King Louis XIV is not the kind of person who cares about his origin and blood. He is like a young man in the military cadets. In the future, he may be another Condé, Henry (referring to Viscount Turenne). ), Schaumberg, Vauban... If you don't make friends with someone with such a humble status, do you have to wait until he is a very noble minister before going to flatter him?

   After the servant took away the empty plate, Baal smiled a little embarrassedly, and then he showed a worried look. The clock in the corner pointed to four o'clock in the morning, and it was not yet sunrise, but the gray-blue sky showed a speckled blush - I don't know if it was an illusion, he seemed to hear gunshots and shouts.

   "Those Englishmen..." he asked cautiously.

   "Well," the Duke of Vendôme sat up straight, "a bunch of restless guys!" he said, but there didn't seem to be much worry in his tone.

   Jean Bart soon got a position under the Duke of Vendôme, and he heard more and more, mostly against France.

At one point it was said that the British burned down an armament depot full of blankets and tents; another said that the British stopped a caravan of wheat for Louis XIV, and they took part of the grain, All the others were burnt; after a while it was said that the British had destroyed the Dunkirk Boulevard with gunpowder—that is, the road from Dunkirk to Paris; a few days later, I heard that the Dunkirk Dockyard It was also damaged, and the ships moored in the harbor were doused with grease and nearly turned into a pile of expensive fuel.

Barr had no idea what the Duke of Vendôme was doing, and he even began to worry whether the English had managed to buy the Duke of Vendôme, or if the duke was still haunted by Louis XIII and his descendants. When the ship in the port left Dunkirk in order to avoid a second damage, and was said to be temporarily moored at Calais, his troubles rose to the highest level - he ran to the priest to confess.

  Paris and Versailles have inhumane secrets - many of the king's birds are clad in cassocks.

Hundreds of years later, when people are still arguing about whether priests have the right to disclose the content of their confessions, in this era, or even earlier, priests have long been the eyes and ears of the church and the king. The contents of the confessions are kept secret in normal times, just because they do not directly affect their interests - for example, the shoe uprising that arose in the Alsace region more than a hundred years ago, failed many times in a row, why? Because although they advocated the abolition of church courts and restrictions on priests' salaries, there were always members who went to the priest to do confession...

After the confession, Baal felt better, but he was a little bit unable to face the Duke of Vendome, because the old Duke was really kind to him, but a few days later, the Duke of Vendome sent him to hunt down the leader of the mob, the one An Englishman named Jack, so Barr immediately took the order and went out.

  Jean Barr is from Dunkirk, he knows how to deal with the British, or rather, how to cut their way out.

On the one hand, he used threats and bribes to control the British who did not participate in the riots - although they claimed to be innocent, Barr knew that they would definitely provide supplies and even hiding places for the rioters, and he concentrated these British people. When they got together, they promised to go home with the bounty unharmed if they were proven innocent when the riot was over. On the other hand, he put a lot of money on the heads of the British thugs, especially their leader, the man named Jack, but the others were also valuable, so the pirates of the entire Dunkirk region and their descendants took action .

  After all, since Louis XIV cleaned up the offshore waters, they were either incorporated into the French navy, or they had to quit. There were not many opportunities for such a big fortune.

   The Duke of Vendôme should also be able to think of and do these things. Barr didn't want to think about why the Duke of Vendome didn't. He brought Jack to the Duke of Vendome, and the Duke laughed when he saw this man.

   "I don't know what a surname and a given name you have," said the Duke of Vendôme, "but your name is certainly not Jack."

   The addition is complete.

   (end of this chapter)